The hole, which appeared Sunday about 100 feet from the southeastern shore, is about 8 feet deep and 10 feet across but poses no threat to lakefront homes, said Harry Pinkman, Seminole County disaster preparedness coordinator. There about 60 homes in the 4-year-old subdivision, where houses sell for $150,000 to $200,000.

Although Junnier said she is ''kind of concerned'' about the possibility of the hole growing, she said others have taken emergency measures. On Sunday Junnier said a man in a rowboat tried to fill the hole with shovels full of dirt.

''We couldn't believe he was doing it, but nobody was laughing,'' Junnier said.

Perry Agoranos, whose swimming pool is nearly 200 feet from the sinkhole, said he is confident that his half-acre will afford some protection to his home and pool. Agoranos and his wife, Connie, moved to Florida three years ago from Chicago. He said he didn't know anything about sinkholes or sinkhole insurance but hopes he doesn't ''have to find out the hard way.''

After a Winter Park sinkhole destroyed a house, several cars and part of a street in 1981, state legislators made sinkhole insurance mandatory in Florida.

Erosion sinkholes are common in Central Florida during the dry season, when the water table drops and loose soil collapses into underlying cavities.

North Cove residents notified the Seminole County Public Safety Department after the hole appeared early Sunday evening. Pinkman said that the 45-degree slope of its sides and its lack of growth indicate the hole has stabilized. He said rain may cause more erosion, temporarily increasing the size of the hole. Eventually, though, the underground cavities will fill up and bring the problem under control.

Inspectors from the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission said the level of the 15-acre lake has dropped about 4 feet in the past five days. Fish in the lake are not in danger unless the hole at the southeastern end of the lake continues to drain water. Inspectors used sounding equipment Monday that showed depths of up to 10 feet, which would allow enough oxygen to sustain fish, Pinkman said.